


A Hero's Sacrifice

by toreelyn



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Brave Peter Parker, Gen, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Peter Parker Angst, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Peter Parker Whump, Protective Tony Stark, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Whump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-26
Updated: 2018-09-26
Packaged: 2019-07-17 18:25:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,271
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16101251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/toreelyn/pseuds/toreelyn
Summary: The man stands in front of Peter, holding two young children hostage. Peter is determined to take this guy down. He's so close to succeeding, until something unexpected happens.Not the best summary, I know...





	A Hero's Sacrifice

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, this is a one-shot I wrote a little bit ago. I thought this would hold y'all over until I get up the next chapter of Giving Up Is Not An Option. Enjoy!

All Tony can do is watch through his suit's screen as Spider-Man tries to reason with the man holding two children hostage, while holding a knife in one hand. Tony is flying as quickly as he can to the location where all of this is taking place.

"Let them go", Peter says.

"I can't do that. I'm in too deep now", the man says, sweat dripping down his forehead.

"Guy, just put the knife down and we can work it out. Just give me the knife", Peter says in a calm voice that doesn't necessarily betray the true fear coursing through his veins. The two children look at him, and he knows that they are also very scared.

The man looks at Spider-Man with a mix of confusion. Peter returns the look, although it isn't seen, due to the mask over his face. He wonders if his words had actually gotten through to the man.

"Listen, if you're going to threaten someone, then threaten me?" Peter says finally.

"Who are you?" the man seems distracted. "Take off that mask".

"I can't do that", Peter says. "Just give me the knife and let the kids go". He is really tempted to use his web shooters, but he is afraid that any sudden motion would cause something to happen to one of the hostages.

Suddenly, Peter feels relief as the man lets the two crying children go. He quickly directs the kids towards the exit, and they run out to safety. Now, Peter just needs to get the knife away from him. He quickly shoots some web at the knife, but the man pulls it away at the last moment. Instead, the web hits a wooden crate behind the man, so Peter uses it to his advantage, and pulls it forward, hitting the man in the back of the head. The man falls to the ground. He appears to be unconscious.

Peter slowly approaches the heap on the ground and reaches down to see if the man is alright. He goes to turn the man over, but he isn't prepared for what happens next. The man comes up, swinging his blade--Peter isn't quick enough. His senses buzz too late. The knife slices right across his throat.

Tony is almost to the scene--he can actually witness it with his own eyes and not through a screen. He sees the man's action, but he's internally praying that the man missed or that Peter moved fast enough in time and maybe Tony just blinked. All of his hopes are smashed as the young teen places a hand to his throat.

Peter wavers for a few moments as he feels the warm feeling of blood as it pours from his neck through the slice that was made in his suit. A blast goes off, but Peter pays no attention to it as he pulls off his mask in a panic, hoping that it will help him breathe. He finally falls to his knees.

"Peter!" Tony screams out as he catches the young hero before he hits the floor. Peter is still holding onto his bleeding throat, choking, his eyes filled with fear. "It's okay, kid", he says, running a hand through Peter's curls, getting the suits to give Tony all of Peter's vitals. They aren't good. Peter's grip on his throat begins to loosen.

"Hey, stay with me, Pete", Tony says firmly, the gauntlet pulls back from his hands and he replaces Peters hands with his own. Tony quickly grabs the Spider-Man mask from the floor and presses the material to Peter's bleeding neck--his hands shake uncontrollably. It makes him sick how quickly the material in his hand gets soaked in the warm, red liquid. He's trying to apply enough pressure to slow the bleeding, but also trying not to choke the kid out. "You're going to be okay".

Peter doesn't take his eyes off of his mentor. "Mr. St-", he chokes.

"Don't try to talk", Tony says calmly to him, "I know it's a hard thing for you", he jokes. That gets a small smirk from the boy. Tony is waiting for F.R.I.D.A.Y. to navigate the nearest emergency center. He sees Peter's eyes flutter open and shut as he struggles to stay awake.

Tony is just grateful that Peter is still with him. This stuff isn't supposed to happen, not to Spider-Man. Perhaps it is all just a nightmare.

Tony is snapped out of his wishful thinking when Peter begins taking short, painful gasps. Tony ignores the stain of blood on his hands. Peter starts gagging on his own blood, his eyes rolling back.

"Hey", Tony pats his cheek, "Hey, Peter! Don't check out, kid".

Peter forces his eyes to focus on Tony and he tries to swallow the blood filling his mouth, resulting in the young teen choking. He looks at Tony, a look of terror on his face. He wants so badly to talk to Tony.

"I-I can't-" he tries, but all he ends up doing is coughing, causing blood to dribble down his chin.

"I told you not to talk, Parker", Tony says more sternly. "F.R.I.D.A.Y. did you get coordinates on a hospital yet?".

"Yes, Mr. Stark. Here they are", she reveals them to him.

Tony looks at where the hospital is located, "That's too far. I'm just taking him to the compound. Alright kid, stay with me. We're getting you out of here", he scoops Peter into his arms and shoots off, as Peter succumbs to the darkness.

*****

"Tony", Bruce Banner finally comes out to talk to him and Aunt May.

Tony stands and so does May. "How is he?".

"He's stable, for now", Bruce tells them. Aunt May plops back down into her seat in relief, still listening to the rest of the report. "He was deprived of oxygen for eight minutes and he lost a lot of blood. He is definitely a fighter". May smiles weakly at that comment. "Luckily, the cut wasn't too deep, but there is still damage to his throat. It should heal given time. He won't really be able to speak for awhile, but his voice will come back".

"When can I see him?" Aunt May says quickly.

"You may see him now. He should be all situated in his room, but he may not be awake for awhile".

"That's fine. I just need to see my nephew", Aunt May says, tears filling her swollen eyes.

"Of course, follow me", Bruce leads.

Aunt May goes to follow and turns to Tony, who hasn't moved, "Are you coming?".

"No, you go ahead. You need to be with him. I have some things to do", he says with a small smile. "I'll be back later". She just nods and follows the doctor.

*****

Peter drifts in a peaceful slumber before his body becomes more aware of his surroundings. There is a small beeping noise matching his heart rate. He sluggishly opens his eyes, he tries to move, but decides not to when he sees a tube attached to a small piece of plastic that is wrapped around his throat.

He hears voices and a bit of bustle around him. A moment later, a bright light is shone in his eyes. It's blinding, but as he starts to focus, he sees Bruce Banner hovering over him. Peter's eyes become more alert.

"Take it easy, Peter. Don't try to speak. We couldn't intubate you so we had to perform a trachea. Do you understand what I'm saying?".

Peter nods very slightly, trying not to affect the tubing in his throat.

"Okay, good", Bruce says, "You've been in a coma for the past two days. You lost a lot of blood. You are one hell of a fighter, but we knew that already", he smiles at Peter. "We have been giving you transfusions and have repaired the damage to your throat, but you may not be able to speak for a few more days, but seeing how quickly you heal, the trachea may only need to be in for another couple days, until then, we are going to feed you through a tube and give you IV fluids to keep you hydrated. You're aunt and Tony have been here most of the time, and your friend, Ned, stopped by yesterday". Bruce smiles at him, finishing all reporting.

As if on cue, May walks in. "Peter!" she squeals when she sees him awake. She runs over to him and kisses him on the forehead. Peter smiles at her, leaning into her embrace. "You scared me, Peter", she cups his face in her hands, "You can never do that or again or you will envoke the full rage of your poor aunt". Peter nods slightly at her, as she embraces him again, gripping her arms.

*****

Tony walks down the hallway. He knows that Peter is awake now, but he has no idea what condition he is really in. He doesn't have much time to think about it when he gets to Peter's room, which is open. He stands in the doorway and knocks. 

May is in there with her nephew. She turns and sees Tony and stands up, placing a kiss on her nephews forehead, "I'm going to go get some air. Are you going to be okay without me?" she asks him, messing with a curl on his head. Peter confirms, giving her an encouraging smile. Tony feels so proud at that gesture. No matter what the kid is going through, how much danger he is in, or how much pain, he always stays strong for the ones he cares for, especially his aunt.

She nods, giving him another kiss on the head and turns to Tony. "He's all yours", she says, walking past the billionaire.

Tony walks up to Peter, taking in his appearance. He has a thick bandage around his neck, as well as the tube in his throat. His face is pale with dark circles under his brown eyes. He looks tired and his lips are a bit dry. He is plugged into different machines and has an IV dripping a large bag of fluid into his arm. Tony is thankful that he has a healing factor, because he may not be doing this well if he was any regular kid.

"Hey, kid", Tony says, sitting down next to the bed.

Peter smiles at him.

"It's weird to not have you already talking my ear off", Tony teases. Peter rolls his eyes playfully. "How are you feeling?". Peter gives him a thumbs up. Tony nods, "Of course you are".

They sit in silence for a moment and then Peter opens his mouth.

"Eh, don't", Tony demands. Peter ignores him.

Peter still goes to open his mouth.

"You're not going to listen to me. Shocker", Tony smirks.

"I'm sorry", Peter mouths, and Tony can tell that it hurts.

"Stop", Tony says, putting up a hand. He gets up and grabs a pen and paper and hands it to Peter.

Peter quickly scribbles something down and then reveals it to Tony. 'I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I should have been faster'.

"Okay Parker, I'm gonna stop you right there", Tony says, leaning forward and snatching the paper from the teen. "You better not be apologizing to me, because if I remember correctly, you are the one that almost died".

Peter looks down, like a small kid, and then takes the paper back from his mentor and scribbles again. It reads: 'I scared May'. He looks up at his mentor, tears welling up in his eyes, shaking his head. He mouths, "I can't", and starts to cry harder.

"Pete", Tony says, grabbing the kid's hand and gripping it in his own. 

Peter looks so fragile, which is not normal for him, but he's breaking right here in front of Tony. It doesn't hit Tony until now that Peter is still only 16 years old. He's not even an adult yet, and he went through something extremely traumatic. He's held it together. He hasn't had the chance to cry, and it's all coming out now. Peter is sobbing.

"Hey, kid", Tony says, brushing Peter's curls out of his face, but that doesn't calm him any. Tony stands and gently bends over Peter, letting Peter grip him and hold onto him. His heart breaks when he feels how hard he is shaking.

"You did good, kid", Tony says gently, "You always do. None of this is your fault. You saved those kids and helped us catch a violent man. You did good. You're alive and your aunt is okay". Peter finally begins to calm down. "You're safe. You're okay".

Peter starts to take deeper breaths, but his grip on Tony doesn't let up. Tony pulls away from him, looking the kid in the eyes. Peter tries to blink away the sleep in his eyes, but knows that he isn't going to be able to fight it for much longer.

"Get some rest. No one else is going to keep fighting for the little guy in Queens", Tony tells him. "You need to get strong again. You'll be swinging around again in no time, but for now, I'll enjoy your silence", he says.

Peter smiles at him as his eyes get droopy. 

"Rest, kid", Tony says, "Now is not a time to fight".

Peter's eyes drift shut without hesitation and his breathing steadies out as he falls asleep. Tony knows that this won't affect Peter and his love of protecting people. He admires him, for his strength to keep going, no matter the sacrifice.

**Author's Note:**

> Not to bad, eh? Let me know what you think! I love hearing from you guys! :))
> 
> Follow me on Tumblr... I think I may be kinda interesting. Username: toreelyn


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